Reminding the Delhi Government and the municipal corporations of their obligation to provide a clean environment to the residents of the city, the National Green Tribunal has directed the government to ensure that all the waste strewn over by the striking safai karamcharis is collected immediately and taken to identified disposal sites.
“The Government of NCT, Delhi should ensure that no garbage is permitted to remain on the roads as it is bound to cause serious health hazards and adverse environmental impacts,” said a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar on Tuesday.
“We direct the respondents particularly the corporations, namely, North Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation to ensure that no garbage or municipal solid waste is thrown on any of the roads of Delhi.
“The garbage that has already been thrown on inter-section of the roads or other roads of the city should be got collected immediately and taken to the MSW-identified sites,” the Tribunal said.
The Bench was hearing a petition filed by advocate Saurabh Sharma against the cleaners littering waste on the streets demanding wages. It also said,
Advocate Sharma, who moved the NGT citing environmental and health hazards of waste being littered like this, said the Delhi Government and the civic agencies are embroiled in blame game and not addressing the issue “even as residents of Delhi are made to live in unhygienic and hazardous environment, which is evidently imposed upon the citizens by the governmental machinery.”
“...in the present situation, the likelihood of spreading of infectious diseases is very high. Only recently, residents of Delhi have suffered the epidemic of swine flu and cannot afford outbreak of any other epidemic. Even the medical services in Delhi are in very sad state and are incompetent to cope with any such emergencies. When in fair weather, the epidemic of swine flu could cause so many fatalities as well as caused anxiety and fear, the present unhygienic atmosphere is bound to flare up any epidemic to alarming heights,” he said.
Residents of Delhi are made to live in unhygienic and hazardous environment, which is evidently imposed upon them by the governmental machinery
